The sanctity of the forever vow in Nagpur appears to be weathering a storm. A glance at information sought under Right To Information (RTI) by activist Abhay Kolarkar from the Nagpur Family Court reveals a staggering and alarming escalation in matrimonial discord: in 2025 alone, 3,952 divorce cases were filed, marking a massive leap from the 2,596 cases recorded just a year ago. This sharp upward trajectory suggests that nearly 11 couples are approaching the court every single day, signalling a profound shift in the city’s social fabric and the increasing fragility of modern domestic bonds. The surge in 2025 has contributed to a daunting administrative challenge for the judiciary. While the court managed to grant 1,767 divorces and dismissed or settled 1,085 cases last year, the sheer volume of new filings has kept the legal machinery under constant pressure.

 

As of January 2026, the court is still grappling with a total of 7,668 pending cases across all matrimonial categories, despite disposing of more cases than it received in the first month of the new year. Behind these statistics lies a rigorous, albeit struggling, effort at counselling. Between January 2023 and January 2026, over 3,386 cases were referred for professional mediation. However, the success rate remains sobering; only 255 couples roughly 7.5 per cent of those who sought counselling chose to reconcile and live together again. The data highlights a grim reality: once a dispute reaches the steps of the Family Court, the path back to a shared home is rarely taken. Speaking on the psychology of people, Dr Manjusha Dilip Kanada, a Counsellor with 40 years of experience shared that “In a busy daily routine of people where people are just chasing money, couples should spend more time with each other, they should understand each other’s feelings and should respect it.”

 

“Many of times couples over share their problems with the third person, they might try to break your bond with your partner. Not every third person is the same but most of the times its a proven pattern that sharing your marital problems with third wheel can be dangerous for your relationship,” Dr Kanade said and added intrusion of AI and technology is also a factor for the increase of temper and lack of patience in humans. Due to this even a small fight land in the court of divorce. After marriage, its important to hold your partners hand frequently and have a conversation with them about how the day was spent or how are they feeling. This increases love between the partners and decreases the chances of divorce and misunderstandings. “There is no facility of pre-marital counselling in Nagpur, it can prevent a lot of divorce even before it starts.

 

Youth are nowadays so insensitive and irresponsible that they don’t want to understand their partner’s feelings. Couples are so insecure about their relation, lack of trust is a common factor at most of divorce cases. Even a chat with opposite gender can easily become a reason for the divorce. People need to increase some patience in their relationships. For instance, if a person is scolding then another person needs to calmly handle the situation without getting angry.” Adv Padma Chandekar, with 38 years of experience in handling cases at Family court shared her thoughts. The rise in litigation is further complicated by internal staffing shortages.

 

The Nagpur Family Court currently operates with only 5 marriage counsellors, despite having a sanctioned strength of 10. This 50 Per cent vacancy rate in such a critical department may be hindering the speed and depth of reconciliation efforts. In terms of child welfare, the data shows that custody battles remain rare or highly specific, with only 14 instances of mothers being granted child custody through the court over the last three years. As the ‘City of Oranges’ navigates this rising tide of separation, the 2025 figures stand as a somber reminder of the evolving challenges facing contemporary families.